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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26964808">The High Flyer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstkingsfanfic/pseuds/angstkingsfanfic'>angstkingsfanfic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mental Health Matters [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Agender Kozume Kenma, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Kozume Kenma, Brother-Sister Relationships, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gaming, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Iwaizumi Hajime Is So Done, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Fluff, Kozume Kenma &amp; Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minor Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Minor Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Nekoma, Nerdiness, Neurodiversity, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s), Pining Oikawa Tooru, Protective Iwaizumi Hajime, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, Protective Oikawa Tooru, Protective Sawamura Daichi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Training Camp, Volleyball Dorks &amp; Nerds, Volleyball Dorks in Love, they/them pronouns</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:07:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>975</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26964808</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstkingsfanfic/pseuds/angstkingsfanfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oikawa-Senpai?" They asked. They were flicking their fingers against their nails.</p><p>"Yes, Ni-Chan?"</p><p>"Will you set for me?"</p><p>He smiled brightly. "Of course, what big brothers are for."</p><p>_________________________</p><p>First Year Niko Daichi is the official Ace for Aoba Johsai's girls' volleyball team. Non-binary, neurodivergent, and socially anxious, it takes the help of a very odd gay couple to get them comfortable in their new school environment. </p><p>**OC uses they/them pronouns</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mental Health Matters [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028625</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The High Flyer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey everyone! I am writing this fic because I have recently been diagnosed with ASD and I need a fun way to explore it. The actions/tics/fidgets/decisions of this autistic character are based on my experiences. Autism is not the same for everyone who has it, but I hope some other Neurodiverent/Gender Non-Conforming people can find comfort in this fic :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Niko wasn’t sure where they belonged in this school. The volleyball girls weren’t happy with them because they swooped in and stole the official Ace position from a third-year. Pretty much everyone else was too scary for them to talk to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They tapped their foot aggressively on the ground as they rolled a dice between their fingers. Every day at school was a nightmare. The teachers talked to fast for them to keep up, other students found them too awkward to bother with, and their teammates were skeptical of them. They wondered if they should have just given up volleyball at the start of high school. That would have made things so much easier. They could have attended the same high school as their older brother then…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they could never give up volleyball, at least not really. They thoroughly considered the option of becoming a manager of their brother’s team, but that just wouldn’t cut it. They itched for the tingling sensation that occurred after the ball slapped their hand during a spike. They longed to be the ace. They were tall enough and strong enough, but their previous school wouldn’t let them go all out. That’s what drove them here, to Aoba Johsai. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They would have preferred the boys’ team, but that wasn’t allowed, so they settled for the girls. It wasn’t perfect, but it sure was better than never getting to play at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niko was pulled from their thoughts as the bell rang, signaling that it was the end of the day. Their next stop was volleyball practice. They both loved it and dreaded it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They packed up their things, keeping the dice in their hand, and started to make their way out of the room. They were about to connect their headphones to their iPod when they quickly became surrounded by a group of girls. There were two from Niko’s class, but the rest they didn’t recognize. “Why is Oikawa interested in a weirdo like you?” One of the girls from Niko’s class spat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Niko cocked their eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is surface level with most people he talks to, but he actually seems to like to spend time with you for some odd reason. So what is it about you huh? Why does he like being around you so much?” A girl Niko didn’t recognize explained that. The poor ace was still lost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could ask him yourself if you want. I don’t know why he likes hanging out with me so much. All we do is play volleyball together, so it’s probably that if I had to guess.” Niko shrugged their shoulders and tried to walk past the girls, but one of them grabbed them by the shoulders. Niko squeaked in surprise. “Please stop touching me. I don’t like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? You think my hands are gross or something? You little brat! I’m a third-year, and I can squash your social-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s quite enough.” Oikawa’s voice shown threw like a clear beacon. Niko smiled brightly at him, but he could still see that their body was shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let them go. They don’t like to be touched without warning,” Iwaizumi scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl let go of Niko’s shoulders and took a step back from them. Niko ran behind Iwaizumi. Oikawa threw them a smile before turning back to the girls that had been bugging her. His expression was sour. The girls’ sweatdropped. He didn’t say anything to them before turning his attention back to Niko. “Come on, let’s get you to practice Ni-Chan.” He offered his hand to them, but they shook their head. He smiled back at them. “Let me know if you change your mind. You can walk between me and Iwa-Chan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>《\/》/\《\/》</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi and Oikawa were finishing up with their practice a few hours later. The team had performed well even though Oikawa’s injury kept him from playing much. He would never say it but seeing the team do well made his heart swell. “How do you think Niko is doing?” Iwaizumi asked. It pulled Oikawa from his thoughts about the team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahhh~! You are really starting to care about Ni-Chan aren’t you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up shittykawa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, you’re so mean to me Iwa-Chan!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m being serious Oikawa.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a lot for them earlier. Do you think that they are doing okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa thought about it a moment. “I think they are probably fine, but we could go check on them. The girls’ team starts a little later than us, so they are probably still practicing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi nodded and started to head toward the gym door. Oikawa followed him closely, intertwining their hands once they were away from the gym. “Ni-Chan is so cute! They could be our little sibling! We should adopt them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are not adopting Niko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on! Not officially, just like… we’re their school older brothers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Maybe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>《\/》/\《\/》</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair arrived at the gym where the girls’ team practiced a few minutes later. They saw Niko spike a ball through the wall on the other side of the net. They scored the last point needed to finish a three-on-three game. “Alright, Daichi! Way to go!” One girl on their side said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, your spikes are getting so much better!” The other complimented. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks a lot, you guys. I really appreciate it. I feel like I’m starting to become a part of the team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your technique is improving Niko,” Iwa said as the pair got closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oikawa-Senpai! Iwaizumi-Senpai! What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We came to check on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… well now that you’re here. I have something to ask you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it Niko?” Iwaizumi questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oikawa-Senpai?" They asked. They were flicking their fingers against their nails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, Ni-Chan?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Will you set for me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled brightly. "Of course, what big brothers are for."</span>
</p>
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